Family of Stone Creek Court homicide victim seeks justice

The family of the man fatally shot May 24 after a paintball incident on Stone Creek Court has spoken out about how the slaying has affected them.

Authorities said Alcides Ruben Washington, 33, of Columbus was shot in the head while visiting his neighbor Timothy Tarr, a 50-year-old military police officer at Fort Benning. Tarr pleaded not guilty to a murder charge on May 31 in Columbus Recorder’s Court.

Columbus Police Detective Brad Hall said Washington went to Tarr’s residence at 6736 Stone Creek to help him construct a storage building. Officials said the two were friends, but the victim’s family said they were only neighbors.

Washington reportedly was firing paintball guns at the suspect’s shooting range when Tarr and his wife allegedly became irritated with him for discharging it too many times.

Authorities said Tarr, who had a .45-caliber pistol positioned in a holster on his right side at the time, demanded that the victim stop. When he didn’t, Tarr removed the weapon from his holster and brandished it with the intent to intimidate him, Hall said.

Tarr reportedly came to a low, ready position. Washington then turned toward him “with the paintball gun in his hands in an aggressive motion” before Tarr shot him once in the head, the detective testified in court.

Washington, an AT&T employee with six boys, was transported to Midtown Medical Center. He was initially listed in critical condition but died the following morning at 2:49 a.m., said Muscogee County Coroner Buddy Bryan.

Temiko Washington, who honored her late husband Sunday afternoon in a private memorial service, said she is determined to get justice for him and their children. She said the three smallest kids were at Tarr’s home when the incident happened, and her 6-year-old boys witnessed the shooting.

“Getting justice for him would be getting justice for our children, because they have to life with that image every day,” said Temiko Washington, who is seeking counseling for the boys. “I didn’t witness it but to see his body lying there and to watch him go through what he went through in the hospital, I can only imagine what my kids seeing that vision at 6 years old could do to them.”

Temiko Washington, who lives directly across the street from where her husband was killed, said her main concern is that her children are protected from Tarr.

“The biggest thing is to make sure that Timothy Tarr stays in jail and my kids don’t have to see him again,” she said.

Alcides Washington’s family continues to battle the grief of losing a man known for his generosity. As a brother to two siblings, the victim moved from Brooklyn, N.Y., to Columbus to care for his sister’s two children during her military deployment.

Leland Sharp, the victim’s father-in-law, said his kind spirit resonated with people and drove so many to support the family following his death.

“Every conversation I’ve had with him, he’s always been at the peak of happiness,” Sharp said. “If you were feeling bad, feeling a little down or feeling low he was always there to say something funny or sarcastic.”

Those are the type of pleasant memories the family has clung to since they learned of the young father’s death.

“He’s always been there for other people,” Temiko Washington said. “That’s how I want to remember him.”

This story was originally published June 17, 2016 at 1:37 PM with the headline "Family of Stone Creek Court homicide victim seeks justice."